U.s. Agencies, Military Redirect 300,000 Flu Shots

U.s. Officials Also Will Try To Get 5 Million More Doses In Canada And Germany.

October 29, 2004|By Robyn Shelton, Sentinel Medical Writer

The military and other federal agencies are giving up 300,000 flu shots so they can be redirected to high-risk people nationwide, health authorities said Thursday.

In addition, the United States will send inspectors to vaccine plants in Germany and Canada next week to see whether they meet U.S. standards. If they do, an additional 5 million shots could be purchased to help offset the national shortage of influenza vaccines.

Once again Thursday, health officials urged people to be patient but persistent in their quests for flu vaccines. The shots simply aren't available in many locations in Central Florida and nationwide.

"We understand that people are concerned," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. But "we have very good reason to be optimistic about our ability to protect the American people this flu season."

Thompson said the 300,000 shots taken from federal sources include 200,000 from the Department of Defense, which will use the nasal-spray version of the vaccine to inoculate personnel instead. The FluMist spray contains a weak, but living, form of the influenza virus and cannot be given to people at greater risk of serious flu complications.

The government is asking that injectable vaccines be used only on high-risk people and those who could pass the virus to them. They include anyone age 65 and older; babies ages 6 months to 23 months; nursing-home residents and employees; health-care workers with direct patient contact; and pregnant women.

The United States had ordered about 100 million shots for this flu season but lost almost half the supply Oct. 5 when one manufacturer's doses were deemed unsafe because of bacterial contamination. The company, Chiron Corp., was supposed to provide 46 million to 48 million shots.

The only remaining U.S. supplier, Aventis Pasteur, is stepping up production to offer about 58 million doses by the end of the season. About 3 million FluMist vaccines also will be available for healthy people ages 5 to 49.

Even so, about 80 million Americans were inoculated last year, and many have been frustrated in their attempts to get vaccines this season.

The elderly may find some protection from dangerous flu complications by getting vaccinated for pneumonia, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Initially, the United States expected about 6 million pneumonia vaccines this year, but the manufacturer has ramped up production to offer 17 million, Thompson said.

Though that's still not enough to reach every high-risk person, many elderly people already have received the shots as part of their routine care, Fauci said.

"If you have received the pneumococcal vaccine in the past, it's good for three to five years," he said. But for those who haven't been inoculated for pneumonia, it's something to explore, he said.

Additionally, the head of the Food and Drug Administration said inspectors will go to a GlaxoSmithKline plant in Germany and an ID Biomedical facility in Canada next week. GlaxoSmithKline has about 4 million shots it could sell the United States, and the Canadian plant has about 1 million.

If it works out, FDA chief Lester Crawford said the vaccines would be available no later than mid-December.

"We are dispatching [inspection] teams next week," he said. "We cannot predispose what their conclusions will be, but if all goes well, then the vaccines will be available in a matter of weeks."